Ronwen Williams and Barbra Banda representing the COSAFA
* The awards are a celebration of African football excellence and a chance to honour those who have enriched the game on the continent over the past year
* COSAFA is being represented by Mamelodi Sundowns and South Africa’s goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and Zambia’s captain Barbra Banda of Orlando Pride in US
By Duncan Mlanjira
The CAF Awards 2024 Gala Night at the Palais des Congrès tonight in Marrakech, Morocco is expected to be beamed live on SuperSport tonight.
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The event is expected to start with the Red Carpet which is live from 18h30 central African time (CAT) followed by the award ceremony from 20h00 (CAT) on SuperSport Africa 1.
The awards are a celebration of African football excellence and a chance to honour those who have enriched the game on the continent over the past year.
Top on the the list is the African Player of the Year, whose nominees in the men’s category are Mamelodi Sundowns and South Africa’s goalkeeper Ronwen Williams from the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA); Nigeria & Atalanta’s exciting winger Ademola Lookman; Côte d’Ivoire & Brighton & Hove Albion winger, Simon Adingr; Borussia Dortmund’s Guinea international striker Serhou Guirassy and Morocco & Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi.
In the women’s are Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride,US/Zambia); Sanaâ Mssoudy (AS FAR/Morocco and goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie (Paris FC, France/Nigeria.
Barbra Banda now is the sole COSAFA after Malawians, Chawinga sisters, Tabitha and Temwa, were voted out from the top five nominees’ list.
During the Paris Olympic Games, the 24-year-old Barbra, made history by becoming the first player to score a third hat-trick at the Olympics after her two brilliant previous performances in Japan three years earlier.
Barbra Banda captaining Zambia
After four successful years at Shanghai Shengli in China, she made a fresh start by joining Orlando Pride, becoming the second most expensive player in women’s football history.
In her first season in the US NWSL, the Zambian captain caused a sensation by scoring the decisive goal in the final of the playoffs, one of 17 she managed in 25 games.
This earned her the title of the championship’s Most Valuable Player of 2024, which was won by Temwa Chawinga, who plays for NWSL side, Kansas City Current.
In confirming her status as an exceptional player, Barbra has also made history by becoming the first player from Africa to be voted into the FIFPRO Women’s World XI.
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Meanwhile, goalkeeper Ronwen Williams has also been nominated in two other categories — CAF Goalkeeper of the Year and CAF Interclub Player of the Year and has better strengths following his excellent exploits for Bafana Bafana at Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) Côte d’Ivoire 2023, whose spectacular penalty saves will live long in the memory as he captained South Africa to the bronze medal.
The event will also be live on CAF YouTube (CAFTV) as well as many leading broadcasters globally including CAF partners, beIN Sport, Canal+, SuperSport, SABC, Azam and several other platforms.
With a host of star-name players, coaches, guests, presenters and entertainers, it is a must-watch event for all football lovers, and an important opportunity to showcase the growth and ambition of the game on the continent.
Broadcasters across Africa will carry the programme live, with a world-class build-up and interviews with the winners and other guests — while the presenters are Kate Scott and Jalal Bouzrara.
The entertainment package will be performed by Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz and Morocco’s Dystinct, among several top African artists.
With 19 awards, including the CAF/FIFPro Africa Best XI for both men and women to be announced, there will be much-anticipation over who will write their names into African football folklore.
A collection of Africa’s greatest players, past and present, are expected to grace the Gala Night that include former internationals; Mali’s midfielder, Seydou Keita; Egypt’s Mohamed Zidan; Kenya’s Victor Wanyama; South Africa’s former athlete Caster Semenya; Cameroon’s Joseph Antoine Bell; South Africa’s women football striker Portia Modise and from the COSAFA, Fabrice Akwa from Angola.
Akwa captained Angola to qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a historic moment for football in the country, scoring the winning goal against Rwanda that took his side to the global showpiece event in Germany.
Fabrice Akwa
Keita played over 100 times for Mali and was a star of the all-conquering FC Barcelona side between 2008 and 2012, collecting every piece of silverware on offer, including the UEFA Champions League twice.
Zidan won back-to-back AfCON titles with Egypt in 2008 and 2010, and successive German Bundesliga trophies with Borussia Dortmund in 2011 and 2012, showcasing the flair of Egyptian football.
Victor Wanyama has been a stalwart of Kenyan football since bursting onto the scene more than 15 years ago, helping them to qualification for the 2019 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
Double Olympic 800-metres champion Caster Semenya, who brings her star quality from outside the world of football, will make her appearance at the event.
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Former Cameroon goalkeeper Joseph Antoine Bell went to three FIFA World Cups with the Indomitable Lions in a 17-year international career after which he is regarded as one of the continent’s great glovemen.
Women’s football will be well represented too, with former South Africa striker Portia Modise, who scored 101 goals for her country, in attendance, along with ex-Ghana star Alberta Sackey and former Equatorial Guinea forward Genoveva Añonman.
The 2024 CAF Awards are a chance to celebrate African unity and excellence, and Legends form a crucial part of that rich tapestry as those who have helped the game grow on the continent in the preceding decades.—Content by CAFonline; edited by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
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